Snapshots of urban climate science

When you picture atmospheric scientists, you might think of them monitoring cloud cover on the open plains or even chasing a twister through a cornfield. You probably don’t imagine teams of people launching weather balloons in the center of one of the largest cities in the U.S.

But that’s what happened this past July during the CROCUS Urban Canyon Campaign in Chicago. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research program, the Community Research on Climate and Urban Science (CROCUS) effort studies urban climate change and the impact it has on local homeowners and businesses.

An urban canyon is a city street packed densely with buildings on both sides. These confined spaces trap heat, leading to an urban heat island effect. This effect is one of the factors that contribute to cities being warmer than surrounding areas. It can impact energy use, air quality and overall climate patterns. The goal of the Urban Canyon campaign was to collect data at the street level, where people live and work, and in the boundary layer, where air from the city mixes with the atmosphere.

Over a two-week period, CROCUS researchers from Chicago and around the region converged on the city to conduct two intensive measurement sessions. They measured temperature, air quality and air flow in and around Chicago’s mix of skyscrapers, highways and neighborhoods. Their data will help inform strategies to mitigate extreme heat and weather while protecting property and infrastructure.

Backed by the support of community partners Blacks in Green (BIG) and the Puerto Rican Agenda, more than 40 scientists and staff collaborated to make the campaign a success. Throughout their work, they snapped pictures of research in action.

The University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) greenhouse grounds served as a staging area for the campaign. On July 15, 2024, researchers tested equipment, planned measurement routes and even compared sunscreens as they readied themselves for science, sun exposure and high heat during the study.

Everywhere is your office during a field campaign. Atmospheric scientist Scott Collis perched on a cooler to join a Zoom call about upcoming weather. These daily forecasts led by the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory interns were essential in informing the team about when weather conditions would be right to answer their research questions.

Dawn in the heart of Chicago. The Urban Canyon campaign began its first active measurement day on July 23, 2024. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s SPARC Trailer was stationed just west of the Chicago Loop to capture data as the city woke up to morning rush hour. SPARC stands for Space Science and Engineering Center Portable Atmospheric Research Center. The instruments on the trailer record temperature, water vapor and air pollution. They can even record the way wind moves up and around buildings. Measurements like this are essential in understanding how Chicago’s skyscrapers might trap hot air at the street level during extreme heat days.

Chicago’s lakefront and greenspaces are key pieces of the city’s climate puzzle. Teams of roving scientists measured temperature fluctuations and air quality levels as they moved from the shore of Lake Michigan into the urban canyon along Roosevelt Road where tall buildings flank the high-traffic corridor.

Community partners like BIG play an essential role in the scientific process. They ensure that research questions reflect the real-world needs of homeowners and businesses in areas most at risk for temperature extremes. They also help get neighbors excited about the science happening in their backyards. On July 23, 2024, CROCUS researchers and BIG visited the Gary Comer Youth Center to demonstrate and celebrate urban climate science in action.

Research is fueled by curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. During the Urban Canyon campaign, it was also fueled by pizza. Over the course of the campaign, the Street-Level Measurement Team walked an estimated 600+ miles through the streets of Chicago. Here they are on July 26, 2024, sitting down for some well-deserved slices.

Good morning from the Shedd Aquarium! The second intensive research period ran from July 27 to July 28, 2024. Researchers from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC) launched their weather balloon from the Shedd’s circle drive while other teams around the city simultaneously released their balloons. Launching weather balloons at the same time allowed researchers to compare temperature, wind speed and wind direction at various heights in the lower atmosphere across the city. The researchers released 42 balloons during the campaign.

Those things that look like shopping carts are actually mobile sensor systems that collect temperature readings at and just off the ground where people are living, working and walking around. Liz Moyer (second from right) from the University of Chicago led students as they pushed the mobile sensors along the Roosevelt Road corridor to gain a better understanding of potential human exposure to extreme heat.

The roving team worked their way from Buckingham Fountain near the shore of Lake Michigan to the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago and into the urban canyons of Chicago’s financial district, taking measurements with portable sensors. But research in the city also leads to outreach in the city. Researchers often paused to answer people’s questions about their science and their equipment.

The final day of the campaign was July 28, 2024. CROCUS principal investigator Cristina Negri (center) conferred with students from Valparaiso University as they prepped for the last balloon launch at the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School in Humboldt Park. The park’s trees and greenspaces are a stark contrast to the surrounding area, which is densely populated with houses and apartment buildings. The data from these balloon launches is helping researchers and community partners like the Puerto Rican Agenda understand just how much the park influences heat mitigation and air quality in the neighborhood.

The deep-dish pizza might be getting cold, but the Urban Canyon campaign’s research is heating up. While scientists will continue to analyze and interpret the 420 data records they collected, you can see their initial findings at Data – Community Research on Climate and Urban Science.

The Urban Canyon campaign was made possible through the hard work and collaboration of CROCUS partners from Argonne, BIG, Northeastern Illinois University, UIC, UIUC, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Valparaiso University and the Puerto Rican Agenda. Host sites at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School, Gary Comer Youth Center, UIC Greenhouse and the Shedd Aquarium provided space and support for this important research. Interns and student volunteers from UIC, Northeastern, Valparaiso and the DOE Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program were essential in making the campaign a success.

Watch an overview of the campaign at Science in Chicago: The CROCUS Urban Canyon Campaign (youtube​.com)

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.